The recent publication by the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) of study material, Church Cultures, Review Questions, is to help its constituency understand its own church ‘culture’. This is a significant event. Some of us who are not linked to this organisation are watching this development with interest. One question that has been raised is about the timing of CEEC publications. The last time that the CEEC produced important material to be studied by its members, was when it produced a video on marriage, The Beautiful Story.  This appeared around the time of the publication of the central Church’s study document, Living in Love and Faith. We discussed at the time in a blog post how all the work of producing this slick and expensive video was being done in the months before the publication of the main discussion document produced by the national Church. In other words, CEEC had apparently already made up its mind about what it thought about the as yet unpublished material on the vexed topic of LGTB+ inclusion by the Church. In summary, the CEEC video was saying that no discussion on the topic was necessary. The Bible, as interpreted by the leaders of its organisation, left no room for doubt for any stance except that adopted by its leaders. This stated that sexual bonding for faithful Christians can only ever take place within the context of heterosexual marriage.

The current CEEC video and study material on church culture may perhaps be seen as a further attempt to pre-empt a new, as yet unpublished, critical document, originating from outside its network.  This is, for quite different reasons, likely to unsettle some Christians, especially those within the CEEC network.  This new collection of CEEC study material may well have been produced as a pre-emptive response to a 31:8 document on the culture of the Titus Trust that is due to appear on December 8^th. Any criticisms of Titus are likely to be felt by the wider constituency of like-minded evangelicals who have supported Titus and the Iwerne camps over decades.  This includes the entire ReNew grouping under the effective control of centres like St Helen’s Bishopsgate. This new report is a follow-up to one which appeared a year ago, commissioned by, but strongly critical of, Emmanuel Church Wimbledon (ECW).  The earlier report was also highly critical of its former Vicar, Jonathan Fletcher. This first report sent a shock wave right through the entire constituency of conservative evangelical churches across the country.

The second report about the Titus Trust, being commissioned from the organisation 31:8, is to address the issue of culture. It will be trying to answer such questions as: How much was the existing culture of Titus an issue in the abuses that took place in and around the Iwerne camps? By publishing their own new material in Review Questions on this topic of culture, the CEEC may be hoping to demonstrate that they fully understand the importance of this issue within their constituency.  They are also prepared to admit a link between that culture and the power abuses of various kinds that have appeared at various times. This study material is, in other words, an attempt to demonstrate to their members and to the wider Church that the authorities in CEEC are already working to mitigate the abuses of the past through a fresh understanding of how abuse came to be. In short, they want to regain trust and be relied on to exercise more open and honest styles of leadership. They want the rest of us to believe that the culture that incubated John Smyth and Jonathan Fletcher can never again take hold. The question for this blog post is to assess whether the committee working for the CEEC really does show a proper understanding of its own culture.  Do they really have any insight as to whether beliefs and behaviours common in evangelical circles can create harm to its constituent members?

We should begin with some appreciation for the fact that an institution like the CEEC is prepared to scrutinise weaknesses which have led to scandal and shame.  Any reader of Graystone’s book, Bleeding for Jesus, or the 31:8 report on ECW is left with little doubt of dysfunctional processes at work in the dynamics of leadership within some conservative churches such as those in CEEC.  One wonders how much of these unhealthy processes are understood by people in the pew. In the first section of the new CEEC study material with the heading, Character and Accountability, there is some discussion of the problems of idolisation of leaders and failure of accountability by these same leaders. There is however little sense that these discussions among evangelically acculturated Christians is going to make a dent in the unhealthy adulation of leaders identified in the earlier 31:8 report.    That report suggested that only a complete ‘clear-out’ would achieve the necessary transformation of the leadership cultures of the churches under scrutiny.

The second theme for the parish group discussion is the theme of Diversity and Difference. Neither of these two words are likely to be common within the rhetoric of preachers represented by the CEEC tradition. The constant appeal to the clear teaching of Scripture suggests that diversity and difference are not going to be readily understood in conservative congregations, let alone encouraged.  Are we here witnessing the equivalent of a form of political correctness in a conservative setting?  Let us use these fashionable words so that people will think we are open and accommodating to people who do not think as we do.  Once the individual joins us, then we can make absolutely clear that sameness, conformity and authority are really the values we follow.  We cannot ever in practice be seen to tolerate or accommodate those who disagree with us.  Our reading of Scripture makes this impossible.

The third discussion theme is around safeguarding and protection of the vulnerable. There is little to object to in this section. As far as it goes, it is an attempt to engender respect for safeguarding processes at every level.  But there is one enormous glaring omission for anyone who looks in from outside the CEEC network.  The omission is a complete and utter inability to engage with the enormity of past failures.  The CEEC constituency are of course not alone in lionising abusive leaders or allowing individuals to escape justice in abuse cases over decades.  But it is hard to understand how the Fletcher/Smyth scandals, both of which were incubated in circles close to the CEEC, does not seem to enter the awareness of the writers, nor provoke abject remorse and shame.

The final section on power and decision-making again is good in what it says but it completely fails to engage with the way that the culture of leadership in any organisation can become corrupted by the personality flaws of those who rise to the top. I’ve spoken elsewhere about institutional narcissism. I have tried there to describe the way that some individuals obtain their sense of self-importance by clawing their way up to obtain a position within a hierarchy. We find so many of the typical manifestations of classic narcissistic traits in large successful evangelical churches. There we find elitism, messianism, celebrity worship and the addictive enjoyment of power among many prominent leaders in this tradition. The problem is not just the existence of these destructive personality flaws within this culture.  It is the inability of anyone operating within these networks either to challenge this behaviour or even understand it.  A first year psychology student would have had the necessary insight to see what was going on at the Crowded House or Emmanuel Wimbledon.  The problem has been that the culture of such institutions has shut out such basic insights by the corporate values of denial, deflect and defend. 

We look forward to the new 3!:8 report on the culture of the Titus Trust with the hope that it will cause a new soul-searching within the wider evangelical constituency.  The CEEC study material and the questions on church culture asks many of the right things but the material is notable for what it leaves out. It sometimes hints at the need for deep honest appraisal but draws back each time from any real criticism of the culture of the CEEC and its leaders.  Without a root and branch self-appraisal, the CEEC and its constituent churches will continue to stagger on with the same complacency that was shown in the video The Beautiful Story of a year ago.  The Church of England needs its evangelical members but the evident power games and dysfunction that have been revealed over the past few years with safeguarding issues, have severely weakened that witness.